Kansas City man freed after DNA tests clear him in 1983 rape case

A 49-year-old Kansas City man convicted in a 1983 rape has been released from prison after DNA testing exonerated him and implicated another man.

The Kansas City Star reports here that Robert E. Nelson was freed Wednesday but that prosecutors and the Midwest Innocence Project withheld the announcement until Friday, after the new suspect was arrested.

Nelson was twice denied DNA testing before the Midwest Innocence Project took on his case last year and spent more than $40,000 for tests that identified the new suspect. Nelson began serving the 70-year rape sentence in 2006 after finishing earlier sentences for robbery.